


Goodbye Macedon

by micamus



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Shin Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Ken | Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Genre: Alexandros is my name for his wyvern, Gen, actually I just love Maria she’s precious, angst but not a lot, first time doing a michalis pov, for @kuroburapi on twitter and based off of their art, i love the sibling dynamic between maria and michalis, just some introspection, no graphic violence but Michalis broke like every bone in his body except his neck and back
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-29
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-29 18:14:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20440334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/micamus/pseuds/micamus
Summary: Maria finds Michalis after his fight with Minerva.





	Goodbye Macedon

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kuuwo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kuuwo/gifts).

> for kuuwo and based on their art it was so good it inspired me... sorry if this isn’t what you envisioned.
> 
> chapter 1/2 because I’ll probably write a short little fic about Michalis meeting up with Alexandros again.

The first thing he felt was pain. Scorching hot pain that washed over his body in waves, centered on... on his ribcage, and his legs, and his arms, all of which were most certainly broken. His left arm was being pushed against the ground uncomfortably with every push against his right arm. Someone was calling his name.

“Michalis, Michalis, please please please say something,” came the tearful pleas. He frowned, and then opened his eyes. “Maria?”

All it took was that one word, spoken so softly that no one could possibly have heard it if they weren’t listening for it, for Maria to collapse, press her face onto his stomach and cry. Michalis felt panicked, worried. He didn’t want to see Maria cry, not over him.

Not over everything that he had done to her, his own little sister.

So he lifted his arm and gently stroked his sister’s head, trying to soothe her. “It’s okay, Maria,” he said, as gently as he could managed with his throat uncomfortably tight and dry. He thought that he might cry himself, but he didn’t. That would only worry Maria more, to see her brother cry when he had never shed a tear before.

Besides, he figured that sobbing would cause the pain he already felt to drown him, now that he was fully conscious. Or that it might make his broken bones worse. Perhaps he was really just making up excuses, but after hiding all of his vulnerabilities for so long, could he really change that easily?

Perhaps he could. But not right now. Not right now.

An indeterminate amount of time passed as Maria cried on his stomach and he stroked her hair, trying to soothe her but not quite sure what to say, how to fix the damage he had caused to her.

A simple apology wasn’t enough. Perhaps nothing would ever be enough. But it was a start.

“Maria,” he said, and her sobbing stopped. Perhaps she was holding it in to hear what he was saying. “Maria, I apologize... I am so sorry.” She sat up and looked at him, her eyes still filled with tears but a gentle smile on her face. “It’s okay, Michalis,” she said. “I know you’re not a bad person.”

He could barely hold his tears in, faced with such kindness and forgiveness. But he tried anyway, tried to force his expression into one of neutrality. Old habits die hard, he supposed, and masking his vulnerabilities was one of Michalis’s oldest habits. 

Maria stood up. “Wait here,” she said. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to get my staff.” He nodded. He waited for her footsteps to fade away before he let himself cry. He did not sob, he could not sob, but he cried, imagining that the tears cleansed him. A fanciful daydream, really, and Michalis knew it. But just once, he let himself dream, lightened the weight of the heavy shackles he had put upon himself.

Only when he stopped crying did Maria return. He tried to sit up to greet her, but she pushed him back down, and Michalis obliged. “You can’t do that,” she chided. “You’ll hurt yourself more.”

And so Michalis lies flat on his back, unmoving, and allowed the light from Maria’s staff to surround his body, slowly dissipating and taking his pain with it, leaving him healed. He felt no pain, he had no wounds. There was no trace of his battle with Minerva left on his body, though it marred his soul.

“What happened?” Maria asked quietly. Michalis sighed. He really didn’t want to tell her about the battle, knew that it would hurt her to explain how he and Minerva had fought... well, almost to the death. But she deserved to know the truth.

“We fought, myself and Minerva,” he began. “And I fell.” “Fell?” Maria asked, confused. “From where?” “From Alexandros,” he said, grimacing at the memory. Maria’s eyes widened in shock. Michalis couldn’t blame her. He’s lucky he survived falling from such a height, let alone without breaking his spine. He opened his mouth to ask Maria a question. “We dont know where Alexandros is,” she replied, before he could even ask. Silence settled around the two of them. 

“I should go find him,” Michalis said, as he tried to sit up again. “You can’t-“ Maria cried, before cutting herself off when she heard Michalis chuckle. “I’m alright, Maria,” he said. “You’ve become a very skilled healer.” Her eyes sparkled at the praise.

“I know! I’ve learned so much while I was traveling with Marth and Minerva, like- oh...” she said, trailing off. “It’s alright,” Michalis said. “Tell me more. I’d like to know about what you’ve been through.” “But Alexandros...” she protested. “It’s alright, I’m sure he’ll understand if I’m a little late.” 

Maria thought for a moment. “You won’t be.” Michalis frowned, confused as to what she meant. “I’ll go with you, and I can tell you while we travel. That way I can keep an eye on you, and make sure nothing else happens to you.” 

Michalis sighed, but smiled. “Very well,” he said. “Which way should we go?” She pointed North. “That way,” she said. “I think he flew that way.” Michalis nodded, and followed a few steps behind her.

He did not turn around, to look at the land he once ruled, the land he no longer had any claim to. He kept his eyes forward, looking not towards the past but towards the uncertain and unpredictable future. He did, however, allow himself a final farewell.

_Goodbye, Macedon._

**Author's Note:**

> *cries for 10 hours about Maria saving Michalis*


End file.
